Code Lyoko: Reloaded
by Ofelia Nat
Summary: Our favorite anti-hero does the unthinkable. Will he ever be able to redeem himself? What will become of the lives of the Lyoko Warriors? And why are there so many secrets?
1. Chapter 1: Taking Action

_Why is she so beautiful?_

The thought crossed his mind as he simultaneously maintained conversation with her. The girl had the stunning natural beauty and compassion of a true princess. Her melodious voice never failed to soothe his raw nerves and ameliorate his days.

At the moment, her green eyes were clouded with intense concentration as se attempted to solve a pre-calculus problem. Suddenly, a bright smile lit up her features.

"Yes! I did it!"

William chuckled. "I told you you could. Domain and range aren't all that difficult."

The pink-haired girl giggled softly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"The, uh, winter concert is tonight. Are you free?"

"You want to go with me?"

"No. I mean—I would, but I'm in it. I want you see me." She bit her lip and mentally slapped herself. "I'm singing."

William grinned. Just the other day, she had been venting about her urge to let her voice be heard, and her almost paralyzing stage fright. It was the same stage fright that almost kept her from fulfilling her role as the opening act for the Subdigitals back in the day. Now here she was offering him a ticket to see her belt it out.

He realized she was waiting for a response and said, "Well, good luck. You'll be great."

She smiled at him, placed the ticket on the desk and gave him a little wave before leaving.

_She's perfect._

Across the library sat Ulrich, silently fuming. He was furious. He'd specifically told Aelita inot/i to associate with that traitor. He ought to scold her right then and there, and he was going to too. But rather, he decided to work his magic behind the scenes.

There was absolutely no way he was going to let Aelita's innocence be ruined because of someone like William.

As soon as she was gone, he took a deep breath stormed over to the scoundrel. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

William didn't bother wasting any of his time or energy on this guy.

"I told you before. You're not wanted here. Don't ever talk to her, or to Yumi or Sissi, for that matter."

William clenched his jaw but still said nothing. He wasn't going to let his erratic anger be provoked.

"You don't deserve any of them, especially not Aelita. Have you forgotten your contribution to the death of her father? She'll never love you, William," Ulrich sneered. He wanted those harsh words to linger, just to let his point be made. He strolled away nonchalantly, feeling a sense of pride engulf him. Still, though, he felt a twinge of guilty doubt at having to say something like that. It certainly wasn't something he liked doing. He sighed deeply and shook his head to clear his tangled thoughts.

Back in the library, William was seething with rage. How dare Ulrich say such false atrocities? He was just intent on making his life more miserable. Yeah. That was it.

_Stupid eleventh grader. _

* * *

><p>"I'm freaking out!" Elisabeth shrieked at nearly the top of her lungs. She was frantically pacing around the dressing room, hyperventilating.<p>

"What are you so worried about?" Yumi muttered. She had her face semi-contorted in order to properly apply her mascara. "We're going to rock that stage."

"I'm not so sure about that," whispered Aelita. She was hunched over, her head held in her hands, breathing deeply.

Yumi placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She paused. "Just thinking."

"Oh. Is that so?"

"Mhm."

Yumi smiled. "About what? Or should I say who?"

Aelita felt the heat rising right to her cheeks. She shook her head in a vigorous denial.

Elisabeth opened her mouth to interject, but was interrupted by an abrupt opening of the door.

"THREE MINUTES GIRLS. THREE MINUTES!"

All three of them tensed.

"This is it," Aelita whispered.

* * *

><p>William had been curious as to what he would see at this concert. Almost all the sections of the musical arts had performed. First had been the band, followed by the orchestra, but they hadn't been anything too spectacular. Then the concert and chamber choirs succeeded in singing their typical holiday tunes.<p>

"And now," began Principal Delmas, "we present to you a special performance from three of our most talented singers from one of our a cappella groups, the Leading Ladies. Please put your hands together for Elisabeth Delmas, Yumi Ishiyama, and Aelita Stones!"

The auditorium erupted briefly then fell silent. A few senior guys made some goading remarks, and Aelita began to visibly shake, although it was barely noticeable. A pianist began to play the chords and a cellist played along.

"The sky looks pissed. The wind talks back. My bones are shifting in my skin, and you my love are gone."

Everyone in the auditorium was thrust into a state of awe as they sang. It wasn't that they expected them to be horrible or anything—they just hadn't expected them to be that good.

"So glide away on soapy heels and promise not to promise anymore. And if you come around again then I will take, then I will take, then I will take the chain from off the door."

_Oh wow_, William thought._ She's fantastic. They all are. Wow._

The crowd burst into an applause immediately. William smiled as a look of relief flashed across Aelita's face.

Principal Delmas took over once more. "What a wonderful performance. Thank you ladies, and Seth," he said, referring to the cellist. There was a brief period of laughter in the audience.

Aelita rushed backstage to change into her dance attire, a revealing, light rose-colored dress with a matching leotard and hair bow. She made her make up pinker and pulled her long waves into a painfully tight ponytail. She could overhear the principal saying, "And now it's time for the Kadic Senior Dance Company's performance!" She sprinted to her position front and center on the stage, behind the closed curtains.

The curtains were opened to reveal ten girls poised gracefully, waiting for their cue. William was amused.

_She didn't mention anything about dancing._

Nevertheless, the performance was beyond amazing, except for occasional blunder every so often. The fluidity and grace of the dancers' movements were so synchronized, so perfectly executed. And although there were nine other girls on stage, William couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Aelita. No, it wasn't because of the nearly indecent clothing she was wearing. It wasn't all the make up caked onto her face. It was simply her.

He came to the sudden realization that he was in love with her. He loved her more than anybody he'd ever loved—more than the girl he'd gotten himself expelled for years ago. He loved her because not only was she beautiful, but Aelita was a true friend to him. When the rest of the Lyoko Warriors and Jeremie turned their backs on him, Aelita refused to follow suit. She stubbornly stood her ground and maintained strong friendships with both him and the Warriors. She had continuously been there for him when no one else cared enough to be.

But maybe Ulrich was right. Maybe he didn't deserve someone as perfect as her. What if he just ended up hurting her somehow? Or disappointing her? Or betraying her?

And worse—what if she didn't love him back?

He sighed. _Am I never going to fit in again?_

At the back of his mind, he recalled how he'd felt as a prisoner of XANA. Surely it was much better than all of this drama, all of this uncertainty. He'd been absolutely horrified to witness some of the things he'd done to his comrades; battling Ulrich and Odd, and almost permanently virtualizing Yumi and Aelita had been too much for him to bear.

But then again, he loved the feeling of strength that had coursed through his body. He loved being able to make such gruesome monsters submit to his will. And he loved making Aelita submit. He'd sometimes found himself craving that look of sheer terror on her face when he silently approached her gently forcing her to the edge of the sector.

Oh, how he missed being the Dark Prince of Lyoko. At least XANA accepted him.

He faintly recalled a dream he'd once had—a dream that XANA had re-awoken, and that he had been the one to rouse him. It didn't seem like such a bad idea right now.

The performance ended with the dancers delicately posed. After a long and final round of applause accompanied by whistles, the auditorium began to clear, and William found himself in a mass of people, bodies jammed against him uncomfortably as they pushed and shoved their ways out.

Instead of heading back to his dorm, William acted on impulse and sprinted towards the manhole in the ground, in the forest surrounding Kadic. After a quick glance all around to make sure he was all alone, he descended into the sewer. Since he wasn't in any kind of rush, he simply walked his way through, not bothering to use one of the skateboards. He reappeared on the bridge and strolled towards the three cables hanging from the ceiling. He leaped towards the one in the middle and swung down.

_I probably shouldn't use the elevator_, he mused. Instead of doing so, he found his way to the boiler room and got to the lab that way.

He descended into the area that controlled the supercalculator, his inhibition clouded by his desire to unleash revenge unto the Lyoko Warriors for making his life miserable. Without hesitation he placed his hand on the ice cold lever and jerked it upward.

A wave of nausea washed over him, and he stumbled backwards, losing his balance as the room shook. Regardless, he smirked at his accomplishment.

Now his attention was focused on the supercomputer itself. It made a gradually ascending groan as it started up after almost three years of dormancy. It gave a small ping, and a little window popped up. It read:

_BACK UP: 0% COMPLETE_

_12 HOURS REMAINING_

William raised a brow. _Hm. I wonder what that means._

He didn't care to find out; they'd all discover it soon enough anyhow.


	2. Chapter 2: Return to the Past?

Something wasn't right.

Jeremie sat at his desktop typing away furiously, astounded by what he was seeing. By the looks of it, it seemed as though the supercomputer had initiated a start-up program on its own. He had to do everything to try to stop that from happening; he couldn't risk having the deadly multi-agent system come back to life.

His monitor displayed a timer on its screen:

_BACK UP: 85% COMPLETE_

_TIME REMAINING: 20 MINUTES_

Jeremie tried as many key combinations as he could to deter the process. One after the other, each of them failed. After one, however, his computer gave a protesting bleep. Pushing his glasses up his nose, he leaned back in his chair, feeling triumphant.

_Beep!_

_Beep!_

_BACK UP: 99% COMPLETE_

_TIME REMAINING: 1 MINUTE 23 SECONDS_

"What?" he shouted. "But how?"

At this point, there was nothing left for him to do. He had done everything humanly possible to prevent this from happening, but it was inevitable.

_BACK UP: 99% COMPLETE_

_TIME REMAINING: 13 SECONDS_

_ Holy crud, _he thought._ This is it._

Jeremie watched in horror as XANA regenerated right before his eyes. A window popped up, command lines being written as the final moment grew ever closer.

_TIME REMAINING: 0 SECONDS_

_STATUS: CONNECTED_

_LAUNCH PROGRAM_

_LAUNCH AUTOMATIC UPDATE_

A single progress bar popped up on his screen and filled up quickly. An image of a spherical object appeared, followed by another window.

_REPLICA ONLINE_

_DOWNLOADING DATA_

_SAVING DATA_

_BINARIES ONLINE_

There was a brief pause in the momentum. Jeremie's breath was caught in his throat, and he was clutching the arms of his chair tightly, almost for dear life.

Then came the last two lines.

_XANA PROGRAM ONLINE_

_INITIATE CODE: REBOOT_

Aelita lay curled up in her bed, feeling unusually cold. She dug herself deeper into her bed, covering even her face. She felt absolutely awful today. She felt as if she'd just had a brick wall tossed at her head, and her chest felt like it was on fire. Her body was incredibly sore, too.

Just as she was beginning to drift asleep again, her door was flung open.

"Oh thank God," came Jeremie's relieved voice. "I thought you were on Lyoko."

Aelita groaned. Hadn't he ever heard of knocking? And why would he barge into her room on a Sunday morning expecting her to be on Lyoko? She removed the covers from her face.

"I'm fine," she croaked at him in response to the strange look he gave her.

"When did you get sick?"

"I don't know." She winced and touched her neck.

Jeremie was quiet for a few moments. "It must be XANA."

"I thought we were done with Lyoko, Jeremie."

"I thought so too, until I witnessed him reboot himself using a single replica this morning."

Aelita gasped. She felt the lump in her throat grow bigger, felt the tears coming to her eyes. All of their years spent fighting XANA were back to haunt them. Everything they had done in the past was useless and in vain— the Skidbladnir, destroying the replicas, losing Franz Hopper….

The tears began to spill over as the reality hit her hard.

It was time.

Night had fallen, and Kadic had fallen silent and deserted as people headed indoors to rest for the night. But William had done the opposite.

For the second night in a row he ventured to the factory, a fool-proof plot formulating in his mind. He initialized the delayed virtualization program and headed down to the scanner room. He stepped into a warming up scanner moments before it shut, and closed his eyes as the blinding light made its way over his body. He felt a short, strong burst of air; the next thing he know he was dangling above Carthage. He hopped to the ground. Not surprisingly, he still donned XANA's black slave suit. In his hand he held his zweihander.

_Perfect_.

"Come on XANA! Show me what you've got!" he shouted. He wielded his zanbato and readied himself for the moment of truth.

XANA, still too weak, virtualized only two creepers on either side of him. They groaned loudly and began firing charged lasers at him. He blocked these with ease; he saw an opportunity to devirtualize them while they charged, and swung his sword toward them, releasing an arc of energy. They exploded into binary codes.

"Is that all you've got?"

Two tarantulas appeared behind him and immediately began firing. Again, with a single swing of his sword, he devirtualized the monsters. He was determined to lure the Scyphozoa out, whether it took all day or not.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait too long. It seemed like XANA really wanted his strongest weapon back, as he wasted no time in sending the Scyphozoa. The moment William spotted it, he smiled, dropped his sword, and walked right into its two outstretched front tentacles, which immediately wrapped around him, paralyzing him. A few other tentacles began the possession process. They implanted a virus within his mind. It was over in a matter of seconds.

The Scyphozoa dropped him to the ground and left him there, in XANA's control. He quickly regained his energy and sprinted to the Core of Lyoko. Chuckling, he summoned his sword and plunged it deep into the Core. Electricity shot out at him, all around him, and everywhere else as the sector began to crumble. All of Lyoko shook violently and began falling apart at a rapid speed, ntil there was no more of it left.

Now, not only was XANA gaining strength, but the Warriors had no way of counterattacking any of his mastermind plans.


End file.
